Opinion – Page 6
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OpinionAmbika Fraser: The pathway to good mental health
Absences due to stress and mental ill-health are becoming higher priority issues for employers and HR departments. According to Health and Wellbeing at Work, published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in May 2018, the number of employees experiencing mental health issues is on the rise, and ...
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OpinionStephen Haynes: Changing views on mental health
While the construction industry has made significant inroads into safety in recent decades, there has been less focus on the ‘health’ in health and safety. However, in recent years the industry has united to improve focus on health, and one of the areas in which we have seen increased attention ...
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OpinionChris O'Sullivan: Digital mental health interventions need more investment
In recent years, we have seen a proliferation in digital mental health tools, and a challenge on the part of researchers and innovators to adequately evidence the efficacy of these new tools. These challenges both inhibit progress, and create a risk that ineffective, or even damaging, tools are adopted. In ...
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OpinionCaroline Rook: Employers need to identify mental health issues among employees
Employee health and stress prevention programmes are in place in many organisations across the UK. Organisations agree that there is a clear business case for the role that wellbeing plays in job performance and overall productivity.The taboo of mental health and stress in the workplace is slowly being broken but ...
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OpinionHelen Smith: Stop mental health becoming a tick-box culture
With a growing national emphasis on mental health, UK employers have never had a better opportunity to start a conversation with their employees about their mental wellbeing.Our Mental health in the workplace report, published in November 2017, found that seven in 10 employees have suffered from a condition related to ...
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OpinionShaun Davis: Take practical measures to support staff with seasonal affective disorder
As the nights draw in and the temperatures drop, many of us feel a bit down with the winter blues, but for some people in the UK this develops into a mental health condition called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This is a type of depression which causes individuals to have ...
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OpinionSue Baker: Employers have many options to create an open working environment that supports mental health
Working with employers from a variety of sectors over the last six years has given us a good indication of what works to ensure a mentally healthy workplace, and these key elements are incorporated into the Time to Change Employer Pledge. This gives organisations the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment ...
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OpinionHannah Pettitt: Mental health first aid support at Transport for London
Over the past few years, I have become interested and passionate about mental health and wellbeing, which has grown from personal experience. In 2015, I became a mental health first aider with my training funded by my employer, Transport for London. It considers the health and wellbeing of its employees ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Permission to speak
How open is your organisation’s culture when it comes to discussing employees’ mental health? Do staff feel able to speak freely about any issues they may be experiencing? Or do many still feel unable to do so for fear of repercussion?Perhaps most importantly, even if the organisation believes it has ...
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OpinionPoppy Jaman: Mental health first aid training can guide employees to the right support
We all have mental health just as we have physical health, but it can seem more difficult to spot the signs of mental ill health.The key thing to look out for when it comes to mental ill health are changes in an employee’s usual behaviour, such as unusual irritability or ...
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OpinionChris O’Sullivan: Understand the risks facing staff to get the support mix right
Mental health is a universal attribute. We all have it, good or bad. We all experience times where we are at our best in work and at home, and we can all think of times when we felt at the edge of coping, or beyond. When we invest in our ...
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OpinionEmma Mamo: Making workplace wellbeing a priority
Creating mentally healthy workplaces has never been more important. Our latest YouGov poll in 2014 revealed over half of workers (56%) found their work very or fairly stressful. Given this high prevalence of workplace stress, mental health at work is an issue too big to ignore.Putting in place initiatives to ...
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OpinionBrian Dow: Wellbeing plans can help managers make effective changes
Because mental illness affects people in very different ways, there is no one size fits all when it comes to supporting people at work.As an employer myself overseeing a large team, there are a number of things I have done that anyone could do, which don’t cost anything. It could ...
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OpinionLovewell's Logic: Does charity begin at work?
But these days does this really hold true? Or is it now more of a case that charity begins at work?Many employers now offer employees opportunities to support charities through the workplace, be it through fundraising, workplace giving or volunteering initiatives.Here at Employee Benefits, we’re no different. Every year, Centaur ...
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OpinionJill Flint-Taylor: How to prevent workplace burnout
Employees get worn down by shifting goalposts, unrealistic targets and uncertainty about what is expected of them.Managers that want to keep their teams strong and prevent burnout need to pay attention to these factors: work demands, sense of control, change, resources of information and work relationships.In a difficult economic climate, ...
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Opinion
Emma Mamo: How to manage workplace depression
If you read nothing else, read this…Depression affects more than 2% of people.Employees experiencing depression may struggle with motivation.Many organisations are now tackling the causes of poor mental health.Depression and anxiety combined is the most common mental health problem, affecting one in 10 people, while depression alone affects more than ...
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OpinionAndrew Kinder: How can EAPs support staff suffering from financial stress?
Some people have no trouble in managing corporate finances and other people’s assets, while others really struggle when it comes to their personal finances. In simple terms, they can get into quite a mess. The process of getting out of such a mess can really affect employees, perhaps resulting in ...
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OpinionDoctor Stavroula Leka and Aditya Jain: Tools to measure workplace stress
Work-related stress is widespread and is not confined to particular sectors, jobs or industries.It is a significant cause of illness and is known to have a link to high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other issues, such as human error that can lead to accidents. Therefore, it is ...
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Opinion
Natasha Shearer: Creating a culture of wellbeing
Implementing this type of support service, where employees can discuss both personal and work problems, will be of huge benefit to the organisation, because it is often the case that employees feel vulnerable in disclosing that they are feeling stressed because of the perceived stigma attached to any mental health ...
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Opinion
Andrew Kinder: Employers must be proactive on stress
When it comes to managing stress and its impact on the workplace, it is important that employers take a proactive approach. There are many techniques and preventative measures that employers can take to manage stress.Line managers have an important role to monitor the behaviour of their teams and identify potentially ...